A |
n abrupt change in the rhythm of the road from smooth dirt to bumpy cobblestones threw me back into the waking world. There was a horrid crick in my neck from lying on my bag for so long, and I was forced to sit up and loosen it. Looking around, I found that we were not actually in the city yet, but there was no doubt we soon would be. At the moment, half-harvested fields surrounded us.
I cast a nervous glance at Levent. He had leaned against the opposite side of the cart, his eyes shut. He appeared to be dozing, but I had remembered something that would keep me returning to my nap any time soon.
There was a security measure in place at the port specifically for situations like this. Each cart entering Bain Port would be stopped and checked over by the local authorities. Here again I was presented with the problem that I was associating with a member of the most hated nation on the planet. I was not sure how he got through undeterred last time, but I doubted he used any lawful method.
After fretting silently for a few moments, I reminded myself that it was not my job to worry about him. It was not my problem. As long as I was able to get through the gates, I was not supposed to care about what happened to the kin.
I spent the rest of the journey leaning a little out of the cart, watching the human towns we went by. Many people were gathering fruit and vegetables from the harvest, placing them in baskets and arranging them for sale. It was peaceful here, and I remembered that I had briefly considered settling in one of these townships when I had first arrived on the island. However, there was a big reason I had not settled anywhere near the port. That reason wafted to my nose the very moment I thought about it, and I gagged. We had gotten near enough to the beach to catch the aroma of fish carcasses washed ashore in the tide. This time of year it was always the same stink.
By the time the wall that marked the border of Bain Port proper came into view, the nasty smell began to fade. This barrier had originally started as a cluster of homes, rooms built on top of each other to conserve space. They were irregular and seemed unbalanced, but the wall was truly strong and impossible to get through, or over, without detection. People had stopped living there long ago, and now the port authority occupied the rambling towers.
As we inched ever closer, I continued to glance at the dragon-kin anxiously.